Behind the Curtains
by rcool98
Summary: Zuko visits Azula in her prison cell, what will the two have to say to each other? Only rated T because I'm paranoid again. Please read and review!


***Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender, all rights reserved to the creators. This disclaimer also applies to my last Avatar story.***

**Behind the Curtains**

A whirlwind of emotions was twisting inside him as Zuko left Ozai's prison cell and began the walk toward the prison which held the girl he once called his sister. With the relentless Fire Nation sun beating down on him, Zuko wanted nothing more than to return to the palace, and put his past behind him once and for all. However, this was the one thing left he had to do. As he neared the prison memories of his little sister and himself flooded his mind.

He remembered playing with his sister as a child, just two innocent children running around the palace.

"_Zuko! Zuko! I'm coming! Where are youuuu?" _

_Hidden behind the great, billowing palace curtains, Zuko grinned. He loved playing this with his sister. He always hid in the same spot, but it took her just as long to find him every time. He bit back a laugh as he again heard,_

"_Where could you BE?"_

_Zuko shook the curtains just enough to subtly give himself away. _

"_FOUND YOU!" The three year old girl shrieked in utter delight. _

_Zuko, rolling his eyes with amusement and affection, ruffled his sister's hair and said, "Great job 'Zula! I don't know how you do it! Want to play again?"_

_Azula's bright amber eyes would light up as she giddily replied, "Yeah! You go hide again! I'll count! 1…2…3…."_

Thinking back on those days brought a ghost of a smile to Zuko's lips, but as he reached his sister's cell, it quickly vanished.

It wasn't as if he was exactly surprised to see how utterly different Azula looked. He had seen her at the Agni Kai, seen her ragged hair, and seen the crazed look in her eyes. The difference now was that even though the look in her eyes then had been that of a deranged human being, there had been at least a spark of something. Now, there was just nothing.

He had of course been there when Aang had taken Azula's bending, had Aang not, she would have escaped in a matter of hours, maybe even minutes. Despite the fact that his sister had tried to kill him multiple times, and would have succeeded once had it not been for Katara, watching her lose her bending, the very essence of who she was was difficult. Zuko had watched as the glow in Aang's eyes faded and his sister slumped forward with a moan, her inner fire extinguished. Before she was dragged to her prison, he had caught sight of her face. It was as if he was seeing someone with a missing limb, even though this wasn't quite the same, but to him it was just as obvious. Zuko could never quite explain exactly what was missing, but there was just something…_less_ about her.

He now stood in front of her cell, Azula looked up slightly, and Zuko still couldn't quite believe that the girl with the filthy, matted strands of hair hanging in her face, and ragged clothing was once the cold, calculating princess Azula.

"Oh Zuzu look at you…._Firelord_…hah…", she sneered. "I suppose you've come to mock me. Well go on then." She drawled, finally raising her head completely to look at him face to face, "You've already taken everything from me."

Until this moment Zuko had been silent, but then something in him snapped.

"_I've _taken everything from _you_?" His golden eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the girl in front of him.

"My whole life everything you've ever done was take thing's away from me time and time again! You never once left me a chance to have anything to call my own. It was as if you stole who I was, or anything I tried to be!" Zuko continued, all his past feelings toward his sister spilling out now.

"You took away everything Azula! Everything! And you never even cared. You never even realized what you were doing to the people around you! All you cared about was clawing your way to the top, no matter who you had to knock down and step on to get there." Zuko took a deep breath, feeling a weight lift off his chest.

Until then Azula had remained quiet but now she again raised her head and stared at him. Her empty, lifeless eyes locked on his, and she barked out one dry, humorless laugh.

"Well…you've won now haven't you Zuzu? You've won and I lost. So I guess you were the one who stepped over me to get to the top."

Zuko shook his head in disgust and bewilderment, "No Azula. For you it was all a mad game of power. You've never known compassion, or friendship, or love. And for that I pity you. Look what you've become Azula. Look what you've become."

His words seemed to transform Azula into some kind of animals because as soon as he finished she began to shriek and pull at her chains. Twisted and thrashing she screamed, "_You are nothing more than a worthless coward! That's what you'll always be! Nothing more than a worthless COWARD!_ "

Zuko shrunk back ever so slightly from the madness in her eyes. Still, he had come here expecting to release all his pent up rage from the years she had tormented him, but now, all he felt was pity and sadness, which surprised even him. As he gazed at the now sobbing, wailing creature in front of him, Zuko was shocked at how completely _gone _his sister was. This…_thing_…in front of him was no more than a mere shadow of who his sister once was. She was simply a shell of a human being, completely devoid of any life that had once been inside of her. For one fleeting second the thought of actually killing Azula flew across his mind, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. He didn't want to kill her out of a thirst for revenge, but out of pity. To him a life in which one had lost who they were was not at all a life worth living. He had banished the idea mainly because he didn't want the blood of his own sister on his hands, it would only be another thing to add to his ever growing list of nightmares, and also because a small part of him _wanted_ her to suffer, to be punished. Zuko wanted her to feel the empty, gnawing feeling inside of her that had eaten away at him for years. He wanted her to know what it was like to be alone, to be scared.

Azula's wails finally died down, and her crying ceased. Her salty tears traced paths down her cheeks through the layer of grime on her face. She took deep shuddering breaths, and Zuko, completely silent, continued to stand there with a cold, unrelenting gaze.

She looked up at her brother through the bars of her prison and snarled, "What are you still doing here _Firelord Zuko?" _She spit out the last part with a mocking tone that would have made his blood boil in the past, but now, it hardly registered.

After what seemed like ages of silence, Zuko opened his mouth to speak, "I just want to know one last thing Azula."

She gave no signal that she had heard him, but did not say anything and allowed him to continue. She snuck a quick glance at her brother and was surprised to see that his gaze had softened to a look of pity and slight desperation.

Zuko asked his sister the one thing he had been wanting to for his whole life, "_Why _Azula? _Why?"_

It was just one word that could have meant anything, but it spoke volumes between the two siblings.

When Azula met his eyes, Zuko saw not the skeleton of what was left of his sister, but in her eyes he saw the younger sister that used to run around the palace with him. He saw the younger sister that never realized he was always behind the curtains. As she spoke tears welled in her empty, empty eyes, and through quivering lips she spoke in a hollow, trembling voice.

"I once thought I knew, I felt so sure of it…but now…now I'm not so sure…"

With that the Fire Lord turned, and left the prison. Before stepping out though, Zuko turned around one last time and even though she most likely would not hear it, he whispered, "Good bye 'Zula…"

***Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this, I really liked writing it and I hope you like reading it! Again, PLEASE read and review! I appreciate your feedback, constructive criticism only is welcome!***


End file.
